Mance Warner has since wrote on social media that AEW did not ask him to pull out of this show, saying his rate was never agreed upon.
“Want to clarify this situation. AEW did not ask me to pull out of this show. my rate was never agreed upon. I sent $400 to the promoter to cover the flight costs. I am sorry to any fans who were looking forward to seeing me at AAW. With transparency, I made a decision to withdraw from the show to avoid any % chance of travel issues or any fuck ups ruining a big opportunity. I hope y’all can understand,” he wrote.
Original story:
Tony Khan is disputing a promotion that says Mance Warner was pulled from their show by AEW.
AAW Wrestling initally announced on Friday that Warner had been pulled from their event set for Friday night in Merrionette Park, Illinois.
“Mance Warner will unfortunately NOT be appearing at #AAWHomecoming per AEW’s request,” they wrote on social media. “We are immediately restructuring the show accordingly and will announce updates as soon as possible.”
Soon after, however, Tony Khan said that Warner was free to do the show.
“That’s the first that I’ve heard of this, and it’s the first time anyone in AEW’s office has heard of it. He is welcome to do your show,” he wrote.
AEW Double or Nothing is this weekend
The news comes as AEW’s Double or Nothing event is set to take place in Queens, New York. While Warner hasn’t appeared on AEW television for some time, he has made appearances in Ring of Honor as recently as the tapings that took place on May 18.
Warner and his wife Steph De Lander made news back in March when they abruptly quit TNA. De Lander said it was due to TNA’s medical team not clearing her to return to in-ring action, despite De Lander saying that her neck was “100% healed” after undergoing neck fusion surgery the year prior. Both have since made appearances for GCW and other independent promotions.
That’s the first that I’ve heard of this, and it’s the first time anyone in AEW’s office has heard of it. He is welcome to do your show.
Controversy has led to the end of pro wrestling at the Berwyn Eagles Hall. Now the wrestler at the center of that controversy has issued a statement giving his side of the story.
Matthew “Krule” Waters had a confrontation with a fan at a Ruthless Pro event at the Eagles Hall in March. Various reports after the fact claimed that Krule had been stabbed by the fan, and as a result the operators of the building declared they would not be hosting any wrestling events going forward.
The last events at the building were an AAW event last Friday and then an independent lucha show on Sunday. On Monday, Krule released a statement on social media.
Krule described the altercation with the fan, with whom he had had “several incidents” throughout the night. “In this moment, l reacted and threw a punch,” the statement reads. “During that incident, I sustained an injury to my side that once I had returned to the locker room was discovered by staff at Berwyn. I do not know how this injury occurred, only that it occurred during the incident. Staff and wrestlers helped bandage me and tend to the wound. I left and was taken to take a shower and driven to the airport, as I had an early flight the next morning for another booking.”
Krule says he spent the night at the airport and woke up to calls from distressed family members. “To be absolutely clear, I never wanted nor asked that this story be represented as fact nor made public,” he writes. “I was contacted by law enforcement, and I fully cooperated with that process. I was asked if I wanted to pursue an investigation. I declined. I told the detective I did not believe I was stabbed, but I had probably fallen on something during the altercation.”
Krule then said he regretted punching the fan. “I have been angry, remorseful, and every emotion in-between,” he writes. “However, it finally hit me like a brick wall, I was in the wrong. … I could have been a professional and I failed. Thus, I accept full responsibility for everything that occurred. I failed as professional. I have always taken pride in being professional and being a team player with every person I have worked for in my career. I failed and made a bad decision.”
Krule ended his statement with an apology. “To the wrestlers, fans, and promotions that have been affected by the aftermath of the situation and my bad decision, no words can change what has been done but I do apologize,” he writes. “I have spent more time over these last few weeks hurting emotionally because I hurt each and every one of you. I am sorry. Majority of you don’t know me, the person, only as what I portray as a character, but this incident is not a reflection of who I am. I care about professional wrestling more than I’ve shown through this situation. I will reflect that going forward.”
The Berwyn Eagles Club is saying goodbye to professional wrestling, so Seth Rollins showed up in person so he could say goodbye to it.
The WWE star made a surprise appearance at Friday’s AAW Wrestling show, one of the last wrestling events at the building. Following an altercation between wrestlers and a fan at a show in March that included a fake stabbing, the building announced it will not be booking any future wrestling events.
Rollins opened the show by coming out to his WWE music, but the crowd quickly acknowledged his past in the region, chanting his indie name of Tyler Black.
Rollins noted his emotional reaction as the crowd welcomed him home. He plugged his Black & Brave Wrestling Academy, located a few hours from the building, and noted some of his students were on the show. He said he needed to be there for the building’s last show because he loves professional wrestling.
He then thanked the fans for letting him live out his childhood dream, “not just at WrestleMania, but to wrestle in rings like this, in places like the Berwyn Eagles Club, for promotions like AAW, for promoters and human beings like Danny Daniels, and in front of fans like you, because you are just like me.”
He thanked the fans for supporting himself, AAW, and professional wrestling.
Cagematch lists Rollins with 36 matches in Berwyn Eagles Club from 2005 to 2010.
The last wrestling show in the building will be an indie lucha event on Sunday, April 26.
There is an update regarding the future of the Berwyn Eagles Club, a longtime independent wrestling venue in the Chicago area.
The club informed wrestling promoters that it would no longer host wrestling events following a March 28 Ruthless Pro Wrestling show where video circulated online showing a fan being attacked by wrestlers and other attendees. Rumors later spread online claiming a stabbing had occurred.
Earlier this month, police confirmed no stabbing occurred during the incident.
The venue is owned by the Fraternal Order of Eagles and operated by Chuck Marose Sr. and his wife.
A GoFundMe page launched by supporters, not the venue owners themselves, stated that the club had lost its license and was no longer allowed to host wrestling shows.
On Friday, the Chicago Sun-Times reported that Berwyn’s city attorney and chief of police said the venue’s entertainment license had not been revoked as a result of the March 28 incident. The report added that the club normally pays for one officer during wrestling events, and that officials recommended increasing that number to four after the brawl. However, the report did not state that the venue was prohibited from hosting future wrestling events.
On April 17, Conrad Thompson shared correspondence with Berwyn city officials stating that the venue does not require city approval to run wrestling events unless they are held on public property.
The final scheduled wrestling events at the venue are tonight’s AAW Pro Wrestling “Crush & Destroy” and an All Star Lucha Libre show on Saturday.
The strangest wrestling story this year has apparently come to a close.
Police have confirmed that there was no stabbing at the Berwyn Eagles Club in March. John Pollock of POST Wrestling acquired the Berwyn Police Department incident report through a Freedom of Information request.
After a March 28 Ruthless Pro Wrestling Show at the Eagles club, reports began to surface that a fan had stabbed a wrestler known as Krule, or Mads Krule Krugger. “The first video to emerge saw wrestlers and fans attacking the fan and removing him from the building,” Pollock writes. “Subsequent clips revealed the fan approaching Krule at his merchandise table after the show, and Krule throwing the first punches before the fan was swarmed. The video did not show any sign of a weapon.”
The incident report was written by Detective William Massuci of the Berwyn Police Department, who contacted the manager of RPW, whose name was redacted in the report. (Pollock adds that the March 28 show was the last under Chris Kohlenberg, and that the promotion is now being run by “Rickey Shane Page, SHLAK, and Dred.”)
“The unnamed manager stated the fan was ‘causing problems early in the night’ and was intoxicated and warned by management to calm down or would be removed,” Pollock writes.
“The fan agreed to calm down but approached Krule after the show and started causing more issues. The manager states that “the fan ended up attacking his wrestler and tackled him to the ground. The fan continued to punch the wrestler several times. Then the rest of the wrestlers/employees came in to help and got the fan off of him” and escorted the fan out of the building.
The unnamed manager stated that “[Redacted] was not stabbed” in reference to Krule, who isn’t listed by his real name or alias in the redacted version of the report.
Krule was then contacted at the airport on his way home. He reportedly told Det. Massuci that “Some guy was causing problems all night and came up to him at the end of the night and struck him several times and tackled him to the ground. His peers then got the fan off of him and took matters into their own hands.”
“The Berwyn Police Department has closed the case, stating there was no stabbing and that the wrestler doesn’t want to pursue any criminal complaints,” Pollock writes.
As a result of the incident, the Berwyn Eagles Club has announced that it will not be booking any future pro wrestling events, citing license issues; the last wrestling there will be an AAW Wrestling show on April 24.
A GoFundMe site has been launched to keep the Berwyn Eagles Club in business.
The Berwyn Eagles Club in Chicago, Illinois, is getting out of hosting wrestling shows after a recent alleged stabbing incident involving Krule.
As a result, a GCW show scheduled for June 20 had to be cancelled after owner Brett Lauderdale learned about the new policy. A new location has yet to be announced.
“This was directly caused by an incident (the fake stabbing) that took place at another promotions event which has caused the town, lawyers & police to be involved. It’s truly a shame to see the Berwyn Eagles and 20+ years of Chicago wrestling history come to an end like this,” he wrote.
The “fake stabbing” is a reference to a late-March incident that saw indie wrestler Krule allegedly stabbed by a fan during a brawl. This took place at his merch table during the final event for deathmatch promotion Ruthless Pro. The wrestler said he was fine afterward and there has been speculation as to whether the incident happened as described.
In a reply to a fan, Lauderdale wrote, “It wasnt a stunt, it was a lie made up by the locker room and the promoters to justify a gang beatdown.”
The final show is an AAW event set for April 24. The promotion noted on X that they were the first wrestling show in the building 22 years ago and will be the last.
“There are thousands of memories within the walls of this venue and it has had such a powerful influence on what you see on tv today. We hope to have you all join us for a final one on 4/24. Everyone at AAW is saddened by this turn of events but we will deliver a last incredible show in Berwyn only as AAW can! Let’s have a great time together!,” they wrote.
New AEW signee Tommaso Ciampa is coming to the Chicago area next month for an indie appearance.
Indie promotion AAW has announced that Ciampa will be in the building for its 22nd Anniversary Event on Friday, March 20. It’s billed as a “special appearance,” with no further details having been announced about what Ciampa’s role will be.
***BREAKING***
AAW Pro Wrestling presents EPIC: The 22 Year Anniversary Event on March 20th at the Berwyn Eagles Club in Berwyn, IL.
Ciampa previously wrestled for AAW from 2014-2016. Based in Chicago, the promotion is among the top indies in the Midwest. The upcoming 22nd Anniversary Event — titled “Epic” — is being held at the Eagles Club in Berwyn, Illinois.
The start of 2026 saw Ciampa make a big career change as he opted not to renew his WWE contract when it expired. He officially departed WWE last week and immediately debuted for AEW, arriving on Dynamite before then winning the TNT Championship from Mark Briscoe on Collision a few days later.
Ciampa has no bad words to say about WWE or his time there, but he’s determined to maximize his potential as a wrestler and show that, right now, he is the best version of himself that he’s ever been. Making the decision to leave WWE and bet on himself was something that Ciampa had been considering long before making the final decision not to renew his contract.
“My interest in doing this has been for at least two or three years. For the last six months, I’ve had a foot out the door,” Ciampa recently told CBS Sports. “It was one of those things: do you bet on yourself, see this through and see if you were right, or do you stay put and take the safe bet?
“I have a seven-year-old. I want her to know that you get one life. You get one career, you get one chance at this. You don’t want to leave it with ‘What if?’ That was the final determining factor.”
When Ciampa announced his departure from WWE, he noted that he was taking bookings for appearances, signings, photo ops, seminars, movies, TV appearances, fitness collaborations, sponsorships, and more.
Part one of Ronda Rousey’s professional wrestling career officially came to an end at WrestleMania.
Nearly three months after Dave Meltzer first reported that Rousey was likely finishing up with WWE at WrestleMania 35, Rousey made things official this week. She wrote on Instagram that she was going on an “impregnation vacation” with her husband Travis Browne. ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne, who Rousey is friendly with, then reported that Rousey is taking a hiatus from WWE to start a family.
A rundown of the fallout of the Superstar Shakeup leads off this week’s issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Go through the moves, the names, the direction, what it says about 205 Live, those coming and going, key people not brought up, couples and read a depth chart of the new rosters.
Look at the situation with Undertaker, the U.K. talk show situation and what happened, how did it happen, update on Sasha Banks situation, update on Money in the Bank PPV, update on Luke Harper, Alexander Wolfe, WWE’s relationship with Stardom, and WWE injury updates.
Also look at UFC 236, with match-by-match coverage, poll result and business notes.
Examine the Viceland documentary and the situation that led to the Montreal screwjob, including claims by Jim Cornette and Vince Russo about being the architects, from the background, and why it happened.
Also look at the career of Rich Franklin as he goes into the UFC Hall of Fame.
Read a feature on the legacy wing inductees in the WWE Hall of Fame, including major write-ups on Jim Barnett and Primo Carnera, as well as Hisashi Shinma’s role in Japanese wrestling booking history.
Run down the ratings of all the major TV shows, along with detailed demo info for the WWE shows.
As always, read the results of all the major pro wrestling events around the world over the past week.
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TUESDAY NEWS UPDATE
by Bryan Rose and Joseph Currier
WWE
SmackDown tonight takes place at the Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska. The preview for the show teases a storyline where Roman Reigns may be fired by Vince McMahon tonight following his actions last week. Kofi Kingston is set to face Shinsuke Nakamura, and Becky Lynch will come face-to-face with Charlotte Flair for the first time since WrestleMania.
For 205 Live, Drew Gulak will face Humberto Carrillo.
WWE stock reached $100 per share at one point today before closing at $99.25. That was up over three percent from yesterday.
The NXT roster has started “The Ricochet Family Fund.” There are eBay auctions with items donated from those in NXT, with all proceeds going to Ricochet’s mother and family to support them after his mother’s house was destroyed in a fire.
WWE will be heading to Colombia for the first time this summer, running a show in Bogota on August 23.
The second Women’s Money in the Bank ladder match from 2017 has been uploaded in full on WWE’s YouTube page.
Happy birthday to John Cena, who turns 42 today. Vince McMahon’s Twitter account sent a birthday message to Cena: “Happy birthday to @WWE’s Babe Ruth, @JohnCena! I really can’t describe in words how much @JohnCena means to me and the @WWEUniverse. #HustleLoyaltyRespectLove”
Ronda Rousey’s appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert will air next Monday.
Ethan Page called out AAW this afternoon for allegedly telling people they could not work certain promotions including Black Label Pro, Freelance Wrestling and Warrior Wrestling. Page wrote “Hey. You know it’s okay to wrestle for multiple companies in same city right? Unless you signed an agreement/contract that states otherwise. Don’t let someone else dictate where you work, unless they’re willing to pay for exclusivity. Own yourself. Don’t sell out for fake hype.” He has given AAW the option of cancelling him for their 5/31 event but will honor the date if they choose not to, saying that he “couldn’t care less working for them at this point”.
In addition to their current Dark Side of the Ring series, Viceland will be airing a ten part documentary series called The Wrestlers, which will look at the world of independent wrestling. It will be airing this year, but no specific timeframe has been set. The show originally aired in Canada.
Taz has been announced for Starrcast II. In the Sports Illustrated article about The Undertaker and Kurt Angle being pulled from the event, Conrad Thompson said he’s working on bringing a Japanese legend to Starrcast: “I’m continuing my search for rare meet-and-greets and unique experiences for Starrcast. We have announced a very rare appearance from Tatsumi Fujinami and we’re working on another Japanese legend. We’ve got at least a couple more surprise names fans may not see coming in the next several days, and I’m most proud of ‘The Roast of Ric Flair,’ which is going to be extremely big.”
MLW uploaded this week’s Fusion episode to their YouTube account. Mance Warner faced Sami Callihan in the main event, with The Lucha Bros vs. Rey Horus & Air Wolf, Ace Romero vs. Josef Samael, and Puma King vs. Gringo Loco also airing on the show.
On the most recent IPWA show in Tel Aviv, Israel, Matt Sydal became the Israeli Pro Wrestling Association champion by defeating Rabbi Swissa, and Jay Lethal defeated David Star.
UFC/MMA
Uber has fired Jefferson Roger Maciel, the driver that is accused of killing former UFC fighter Rodrigo de Lima, 26. The fighter allegedly got into a verbal altercation with the driver on Sunday, which led Maciel to kick him out of the car. Maciel initially drove away from the scene, but then turned around and smashed into de Lima from behind. Police have yet to find Maciel.
Christina Ferguson, Tony Ferguson’s wife, has dropped her restraining order against him. She originally filed for one on March 13 and a hearing was set for April 5, but that did not happen.
Dana White’s Contender Series will launch a third season on June 18 on UFC Fight Pass. This season will consist of ten episodes and will take place over ten consecutive weeks.
Rory MacDonald is planning on re-signing with Bellator after his deal expires, saying that he doesn’t see any reason why he should test free agency.
Eddie Wineland will fight Grigory Popov at UFC 238.
The build to Double or Nothing was furthered with an angle at Saturday night’s AAW show in Chicago, Illinois.
As The Lucha Bros (Pentagon Jr. & Fenix) were defending their AAW Tag Team titles against LAX (Santana & Ortiz) and AR Fox & Myron Reed, The Young Bucks attacked Pentagon and Fenix while the referee was down. They laid out Pentagon and Fenix with superkicks, Matt Jackson gave Pentagon a package piledriver, and they hit the Meltzer Driver on Fenix.
LAX hit their Street Sweeper finisher on Pentagon to become AAW Tag Team Champions.
The Young Bucks then came back into the ring and got on the microphone. They challenged Pentagon & Fenix to a match at AEW Double or Nothing, and Fenix replied that the best answer is what the people say. Fenix said the people want to watch The Young Bucks vs. the best tag team on the planet — The Lucha Bros.
The angle ended with The Young Bucks superkicking Pentagon and Fenix again. Matt Jackson said they know Pentagon and Fenix’s schedule, and The Young Bucks will see them around.
The Young Bucks’ appearance at AAW was the follow up to The Lucha Bros attacking them at the Double or Nothing ticket announcement party earlier this month. Double or Nothing is taking place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday, May 25.
Video of the Young Bucks-Lucha Bros angle from AAW is available to watch below:
By Joseph Currier with reporting from Dave Meltzer
Update —
AAW tweeted an update on Fenix and noted that he’s been released from the hospital: “UPDATE on @ReyFenixMx – He has been treated and released from the hospital with a muscle contusion. He is feeling good and will be back up to 100% after some rest. We thank you all for your concern and for making #LUCHACITY such wonderful time!”
Original —
Fenix was taken to the hospital after suffering a stinger at last night’s AAW Lucha City Limits show in Austin, Texas.
Fenix & Pentagon Jr. defeated AR Fox & Myron Reed to win the AAW Tag Team titles in the main event of the show, but the finish was abrupt after Fenix was injured during a spot where he hit a diving cutter. Fenix stayed down after the spot and was helped to the back following the match.
Due to the injury, Fenix will miss his remaining dates this weekend. He hopes to be back for Impact Wrestling’s television tapings in Las Vegas, Nevada next weekend.
Fenix & Pentagon appeared at All Elite Wrestling’s ticket announcement party on Thursday night and took part in an angle where they laid out The Young Bucks, seemingly setting up a match between the teams for AEW Double or Nothing on May 25.
Do you ever get the feeling that WWE just does not give a s**t anymore? Like they’ve reached some celestial level in the wrestling business where they can do whatever they want and their business will be fine?
Well, it’s because they basically have. Take the current booking of Jinder Mahal for example. One day he’s jobbing to the stars, next thing you know he’s main eventing a “PPV” and challenging for the WWE title because WWE suddenly remembered there’s a huge market in India. It’s booking at its worst. It’s booking that puts business first, and logical storytelling last.
But will it affect Network subscriber numbers? Nope. Will it lead to poor attendance at live shows? Nope? In fact, Backlash, the show being headlined by Mahal and Randy Orton, is already close to sold out. It was nearly sold out before any matches had even been announced.
It’s dangerous territory when a company believes themselves to be infallible. But there does come a point for some fans where enough is enough. I talked with some wrestling fans who’ve reached that point with the goal of finding out exactly what it takes for a wrestling promotion to drive away its fans. As it turns out, there are a couple of common factors.
The totally sound and reliable research method
To hear what fans had to say on the matter, I put the call out to my “legion” of followers on Twitter: “If you’ve stopped following WWE for any reason, or any wrestling promotion for that matter, I want to hear from you.” I’m no Dave Meltzer over here with his 100,000+ followers, so I wasn’t expecting too many responses. I don’t exactly cast the widest net on social media. In total, ten wrestling fans got in touch with me to share their stories, and I’ll take this opportunity to thank them for taking the time to do so.
Personally, it was fascinating to hear the different reasons why fans turn on a wrestling promotion, and in some cases even go so far as to boycott them. Particularly because it’s something that I’m going through at this very moment with WWE, and have done in the past with other promotions.
The results
Despite the small research group, there was quite a variety of promotions mentioned, and a few different reasons for giving up on those promotions. There were also some interesting trends, and a couple of surprises.
As expected, the majority of people brought up WWE in their responses. Out of the ten, five people have completely stopped watching WWE. Of those five, three people brought up WWE’s connection to the Donald Trump administration as their reason.
“I looked at that figure: $6 million (that Linda McMahon had donated to help elect Trump), and kept wondering how much of it was money I had given them. And it made me physically ill.” This sentiment by @JackHeartless is one shared not only with two other fans I talked with, but also myself. Though for me, it was the final straw so to speak in a line of events that led to my decision.
It was probably WWE’s reaction after Jimmy Snuka’s passing that started me on the road. But it was the photo of the McMahons with Trump in the White House that tipped me over the edge, and the recent Mauro Ranallo situation that sealed the deal. As stated by @YoSoyKeith, “I had been disinterested in the product for a while, but then with Trump it just felt wrong to keep supporting the WWE (even though their relationship goes back a ways). That was really the last straw.”
It’s the part about financially supporting WWE that really hit home with me. I can’t say that I’ve completely stopped following the product. I still read about WWE in the Observer, and I might still catch a match here or there if I hear it’s particularly good, or involves a wrestler I really like, but I have made a point to no longer give any of my money to WWE. I don’t and won’t pay for the WWE Network, and as much as I want to support some individual wrestlers who work for the company, I no longer buy any WWE merchandise.
And look, you don’t have to tell me that the little money I did contribute was basically nothing in the grand scheme. I know. But it makes a difference to my conscience. Morally, I feel vindicated, and evidently I’m not the only one.
The two others who have completely given up on WWE cited the quality of the product, leading to a lack of interest, as their reasons. @simonodocopp said, “I stopped watching WWE because I’d been getting increasingly frustrated with their product. The writing and booking were awful — and remain so — so I explored alternatives, fell into NJPW, and never looked back.”
What’s interesting in this case, and the next, is that they both have turned to Japan to get their wrestling fix. As @DK1105 noted, “At this point I am exclusively watching Japanese wrestling and follow more companies that I could possibly keep up with. Right now I mostly stick with the Joshi companies and NJPW and the occasional BJW show while still going back and watching out on the years I missed.”
I’m clearly showing my bias towards Japanese wrestling here, but these two responses warmed my heart.
Hanging in there
Another common WWE-related theme among those who responded was that of giving up on WWE at some point, but later getting hooked back in. In two cases, it’s particular WWE wrestlers that were the key to bringing them back. @DaCarolinaKidd stated, “My first WWE viewing after three years away was the Royal Rumble AJ (Styles) debuted in…I have continued watching since Styles arrived and many other fav indie stars.”
As with many, @WR_Central has had a long on-again, off-again relationship with pro wrestling, but once more, it’s certain wrestlers, Daniel Bryan in particular, that lured him back. “It was Bryan that really got me hooked. He was the first star since (Steve) Austin that I really connected with. I’ve always loved Styles and Owens — and other guys like Zayn, Rollins, etc. Nakamura is relatively new since I became a fan of NJPW in 2015, and I find I connect with him the same way I did guys like Bret Hart when I was a kid. Those guys keep me around.”
For another, @MrWillieJones, it’s not a case of giving up on WWE completely, it’s giving up on three hours of wrestling every Monday night. “I haven’t watched a full Raw in close to two years. Don’t even watch it on DVR anymore.”
Twenty minute Stephanie McMahon promos, wins and losses not mattering, the Seth Rollins title reign, and the company being built around Roman Reigns are just some of the issues that led to @MrWillieJones’ decision to drop Raw, but it’s other WWE programming, like NXT, that has saved WWE from losing another fan all together.
Different promotions, same reasons
Besides WWE, some other promotions people brought up were Ring of Honor and All American Wrestling. But once again, it was the issues of product quality, or clashing personal values that turned fans away.
It was another political connection, in this case the relationship between the promotion, or more specifically ROH’s parent company Sinclair and Donald Trump that led @YoSoyKeith to no longer support ROH. For @NotBrockJahnke, on the other hand, it was more the quality of ROH’s product now compared with years past that turned him off the promotion.
But the reason he no longer follows AAW is a different story. “I stopped watching AAW because of the values of the people behind it. Seeing Danny Daniels profess that Joey Styles’ sexual assault joke at EVOLVE 72 wasn’t a big deal turned me off. Later, when they repeatedly booked Leo Krugar, someone who tried to profit off a domestic violence arrest last year, I had to draw the line and stop following them.”
While not political in nature, it’s the recurring theme of personal views held by fans, and the actions of owners and key decision makers in companies that have caused the issue.
And it’s another situation I can relate to. Perhaps the first time I actively made it a point to not follow a wrestling promotion was when Nanae Takahashi’s Seadlinning hired Yoshiko. Not to be confused with Yoshihiko, DDT’s famed blow-up doll/bad ass wrestler. No, this is Yoshiko, the woman who went off script and legitimately brutalized Act Yasukawa in the ring, leading to Yasukawa’s early retirement. I don’t know if the wrestling industry has a blacklist, but Yoshiko seems like someone who should be on it.
So, what, if anything, have we learned here?
Well, for starters, if a wrestling promotion doesn’t want to alienate its fans, those in charge should probably keep their political connections private, or even better, completely separate from their wrestling business. Or hey, just stay out of politics and focus on doing one thing well instead of many things badly.
Also, perhaps be aware that hiring wrestlers with questionable backgrounds and histories of violence is going to rub some people the wrong way. And of course, maybe don’t expect people to stand by your promotion when your product is consistently subpar, no matter how big you think you are.
But, if you want to win fans back, hire every “indie darling” and international star you can so that fans will have to follow your promotion if they want to see their favorite wrestlers again. I’m looking at you, WWE. Shinsuke Nakamura is one of the very few things holding me back from cutting the WWE cord once and forever. Him and Breezango. That’s it.
Finally, one thing I did find heartening out of all of this is that none of the people I spoke with have given up on pro wrestling altogether. While many have quit certain promotions, they all still follow wrestling in some form or another, whether it be New Japan, CHIKARA, or EVOLVE. And I think that’s a credit to the pro wrestling industry in 2017, and the many extremely talented indie and international stars out there working today.
WWE will probably always be the biggest and baddest, and I’m sure they’d like to be the be-all and end-all of professional wrestling (and don’t think they’re not trying), but there are so many alternatives. Too many, in fact, to be able to enjoy them all.
But if there’s a particular style you like, there’s a promotion somewhere in the world for you, and they probably have a streaming service.
